Objectives. The objective of this study was to identify the prevalence of certain stroke subtypes in people with diabetes and to compare it with the prevalence of those same stroke subtypes in the general population. Study design. The consequences of exposure to the risk factor (diabetes) in people with acute stroke are to be identified retrospectively from medical documentation. Participants and methods. The study included 121 patients with diabetes who received treatment for acute stroke at Osijek University Hospital Centre, Clinical Department of Neurology. The control group included 130 patients who received treatment for stroke at Osijek University Hospital Centre, Clinical Department of Neurology, regardless of existing risk factors. Results. The study included 128 women (51%) and 123 men (49%), without significant differences between groups. The arithmetical age of participants is 73 years (standard deviation of 9.5 years). 221 participants (88 %) suffer from arterial hypertension (it is far more present in participants with diabetes, 110 participants with diabetes (90.9 %) (Fisher’s exact test, P = 0.005). Hypercholesterolemia is present in 121 participants (48.2 %), hypertriglyceridemia in 93 participants (37 %), and atrial fibrillation in 33 participants (13 %), without significant differences between groups. Patients with diabetes suffer from small blood vessel stroke significantly more often in comparison with control group patients (Fisher’s exact test, P = 0.001). Conclusion. There is a higher prevalence of small blood vessel stroke among patients with diabetes, compared to the general population.